The sad thing is, there is no — repeat, no — inherent or insoluble conflict between the desire of some of us to have access to guns for sport and self-defense and the desire of others of us to keep dangerous people from possessing those weapons. Decent, moderate people, working from both sides of the question, could probably hammer out ideas to safeguard both imperatives in an afternoon. Problem is, gun owners’ interests are represented not by decent, moderate people, but by the NRA, an extremist gang for whom even the most modest regulation is a brick in the road to tyranny.
Source: Leonard Pitts Jr.: Even the murder of children is ‘bearable’ | Miami Herald
Mr. Pitts column refers to the killings of Allison Parker and Adam Ward by Vester Lee Flanagan II, a black man who just like Mr. Pitts has demonstrated in his many columns, blames almost everything on Racism.
Now, Mr. Pitts has long time admitted to his ownership of firearms and I have no reason to doubt him. But what I find fascinatingly stupid is that he rather badmouth the NRA who might be pretty much the reason that he, as a human being of the African-American persuasion, can have guns. It was not the NRA who created the Jim Crow laws that effectively kept the black population from arming themselves and fight off racists in the South (and even the North) it was the forefathers of the current Liberal movement, bent in restricting Gun Rights who crafted those nifty regulations that demanded showing to have “a good cause,” or presenting two reference letters from prominent business or political leaders, or leaving it at the discretion to the local chief of law enforcement to act at his discretion on firearms.
And as for extremist gangs, Mr. Pitts gladly ignore the real gang issue in our fair county. Maybe it is also race-induced self-censorship, but he joins the many other mute voices that make you think Miami is a Gang-Free Zone.
I think it is time for Mr. Pitts to put some real effort and abandon the mental plantation of Liberalism. Join the free world!
Waiting for the “You’re not black so you wouldn’t understand” argument to prop up soon.
I noticed that Mr. Pitts makes the same mistake about Sandy Hook that all (alleged) journalists make, 20 children and 6 adults. I guess the murder of the scumbags own mother doesn’t count.
From someone who injects racism into almost every discussion, this post is fascinating.
Pitts addresses the societal ills of the black community all the time. But those columns don’t always contain references to bullets or firearms so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t be familiar with them.
Based on government data, 32% of Americans are gun owners (national average) and there are 318 million Americans, estimated from the last census, that means there are (at least) 102 million American gun owners.
I personally believe the number is higher than that. First of all, no criminal would admit they illegaly possessed a gun. But even for law abiding citizens, I think a lot of people who were gun owners responded to the poll with “no.” I know if someone from the government asked if I had guns, I’d say “No.” If someone from the government saw my Ft. Knox safe and asked what’s inside, I’d tell them “it’s a refrigerator.”
“Why is there a lock on it then.”
“Because my wife needs to lose some weight, next question.”
But I digress….
Collectively, Americans own 300 million guns, or enough to arms just about every person in America. With the crime rate being what it is, and the fact that we know about half of criminals involved in shootings are repeat offenders, it means that the number of gun owners (previously law abiding and not) who create gun violence is in the fractions of a percent.
The NRA isn’t the issue. It is the 100+ million gun owners in America that are tired of being profiled and called murderers and baby killers, and being cursed and hated by the Antis, even though we contributed nothing to the gun violence statistics.
Or let me make this clearly for you: If liberal whites said the same crap about black people because of the small percentage of blacks that are gang members, that they say about gun owners because of the small percentage of gun owners that kill, you would be rioting in the streets.
Gun owners are not battling against laws in the courts and getting into politics because the NRA tells us to. Gun owners are as vocal as we are because we have learned that the Antis have nothing going for them but shock and bigotry.
Well, the first part of his premise isn’t wrong. He’s completely wrong about which side it is stalling the argument, though.
Just like everyone who says “We need to have a conversation. Shut up, you racist gun owner.”